The present invention relates to a folded printed sheet or a printed sheet intended to be folded, and also pertains to a novel method and apparatus for the fabrication thereof.
The printed sheet of the invention which is folded or intended to be folded is of the type containing at least one protruding portion located at a first side edge extending in the direction of the fold line of the printed sheet.
While the invention is generally specifically applicable in conjunction with printed sheets as such, it is to be understood that the term "printed sheet", as used in the context of this disclosure, is employed in its broader sense to also encompass sheets which have not been specifically printed.
It is known to the art, in the case of folded printed sheets, especially so-called tabloid formats, to provide a protruding portion, a so-called pre-fold, at a side edge extending essentially parallel to the fold. This protruding portion or pre-fold extends at a constant width over the entire length of the related side edge. As is known this protruding portion serves for the opening of the folded printed sheet as well as for the withdrawal of the printed sheet from a stack. After there has been accomplished the stacking or tucking into one another, as the case may be, of the printed sheets, their protruding portions are cut away as waste. Even if this cut away portion is not very wide, typically for instance amounting to about 8 millimeters, nonetheless in consideration of the large number of processed printed sheets there is still present an appreciable loss in paper which reflects itself in the costs.